Club Q hero Richard Fierro has been named the grand marshal for the 2023 Pikes Peak Pride parade, part of a weekend-long community celebration June 10 and 11 in Colorado Springs.
The honor is just one of many bestowed on the Army veteran in the months after he helped subdue and disarm a mass shooter at the LGBTQ+ nightclub on Nov. 19, ending an attack that killed five people and injured more than two dozen, including Fierro's wife, Jessica, daughter, Kassy, and two close family friends. Kassy's boyfriend, Raymond Green Vance, was among those killed.
“It’s very touching that the community asked. I’m not a part of that community. I’m a straight dude. But I’m also an ally and part of the community now,” Fierro said. “For me, this is huge. It was the one time I cried when somebody asked me to do something.”
Rich and Jess Fierro opened the Springs’ Atrevida Beer Co. in 2018, as a place where the community could find not only good brews but “diversity on tap.”
The brewery has participated in the annual Pride Parade every year since, Rich Fierro said.
“We were going to be in the parade anyway, so it’s just kind of cool they’re going to put a ‘grand marshal’ (sign) on the side of the car,” he said.
Pikes Peak Pride honors the “active and diverse achievements of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities of Colorado,” and provides an “opportunity for all LGBTQ+ Coloradans to celebrate our achievements and remind the world that we exist while raising awareness in the communities,” according to the nonprofit organization, created by local LGBTQ+ volunteers and allies.
This year's gathering also will honor and memorialize the five people killed at Club Q: Kelly Loving, Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Ashley Paugh, and Raymond Green Vance.
“Our 2023 Pride event will be a celebration and commemoration of our fallen friends and what it means to be LGBTQIA+ in southern Colorado. We are stronger together. We will never forget. We will show the world the Power of Pride,” according to Pikes Peak Pride.
A highlight of the month-long Pride celebration, the weekend event is expected to draw thousands of visitors from across the state and Pikes Peak region. The grounds around Pioneers Museum, at 215 S. Tejon St., will be transformed into an outdoor fest, with vendor booths, food trucks, a beer garden and live entertainment, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
The parade starts 11 a.m. Sunday and runs south down Tejon Street, between Platte Avenue and Vermijo Street.
Fierro said he suspects the 2023 Pride fest could draw record crowds to the Springs.
“I think things this year are going to be bigger than we have ever seen,” he said. “There are going to be folks who have never gone to Colorado Springs Pride, and want to show support based on this tragedy we had six months ago.”
Visit pikespeakpride.org for more information and a schedule of events.
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